An unlikely pair
by Merthergirl
Summary: Lestrade has been in love with Mycroft since they first met. They might be the most unlikely pair possible, but perhaps that might make them, not break them. M for swearing and scenes of a certain nature.
1. Chapter 1

An unlikely pair (1)

**My first Mycroft x Lestrade fic! Dedicated to one of my favourite and most regular reviewers and readers! Assassin of Rome, this is for you :D **

**Please review, they make my day!- that's to every reader :L**

Geoff Lestrade was having a really bad day. Anderson's wife was back in town, and so he'd broke it off with Donavon, and the two had been bickering ever since, with each other, Sherlock and, unusually, him. Then he'd spent three hours chasing Sherlock around London only to find Sherlock catching the criminal. He couldn't even do his job anymore.

As he returned home to his empty apartment his mood sunk even lower. He hadn't paid the electricity bill, so he lit a candle and sat reading in the darkness, trying to get his mind off the fact his life was failing.

….

Mycroft Holmes was having a similar day. Another moron had tried to steal top-secret plans and had caused a huge commotion in a shopping centre yelling something about the government stealing from him. Then Anthea left due to being ill, and his new assistant wasn't nearly as clever, or as easy on the eyes.

When he returned home he brushed aside the maids and went to his room, where he sat curled on his bed and tried not to cry. Why did none of his relationships work out? Hell, even his brother hated him. And he hadn't done anything to do him. Not on purpose anyway. Sure he was a little overprotective but that's because he loved the man so bloody much. What he really needed was someone else to lay affection on so he wasn't so needy with Sherlock… but there was nobody. Nobody at all.

…

And John knew all this. And he knew something he could do to help them.

And all he needed was for them to take the same bus.

….

"No can do, Sir." His chauffer said, "I can't drive you today."  
>"What? Why!" Mycroft exclaimed, frowning.<p>

"On orders from Miss Anthea." The man said.

"ANTHEA!"

"Sherlock thinks you should get the bus." Anthea said hurriedly.

"This is insane." Mycroft said, shaking his tired head. But, like the good older brother he was, he decided he'd take the 116 bus to the office.

….

Lestrade always took the 116 bus home after work. It was a lonely journey, after his wife had changed the kid's schedules to avoid them ever seeing their father again. He remember balancing Kathy on his knee, telling Charlotte repeatedly to turn off her phone and brushing Emma's hair into the gold pigtails he so very adored.

And now he was on his own. In the same place, facing the window, looking into the gloom and wishing he hadn't been hung over at the trail. He wished the judge hadn't declared him as an alcoholic, and that his kids hadn't been dragged away from him never to see him again. Charlotte- she was 13. Kathy, sweet Kathy- she was six and Emma, the darling, was eight. They were truly beautiful, something Lestrade could never fathom. He'd considered his wife to be attractive, once, but never himself. So how could he have created such… perfection? Oh god he loved his children….

And how he missed them.

Lestrade took a glance about the bus and realised how deserted it was. As it jolted into life, he returned his gaze to the window, and as it slowed in the next stop he was surprised to see Mycroft Holmes standing under his umbrella, edging away from the stooped old, common crone who seemed to be… almost flirting with the poor man.

"No, I…" Mycroft said. Lestrade thanked goodness for his lip-reading skills.

"I need to get this bus."

"Ooh the same as mine!" the chav roared, grinning a gappy, yellow smile at the Holmes brother, who swallowed and tried to see an escape, pulling the thinking grimace that had always fascinated Lestrade.

"_Come on Geoff." Sherlock ordered, slinging his school bag over the rails of the staircase and into the poor servant's arms. Lestrade nodded in submission and followed his friend meekly up the vast staircase to Sherlock's equally vast bedroom, which he had concluded was not good for his self-esteem. He never felt really in place inside the Holmes mansion; his clothes were grubby and tattered- being his only set of school uniform- his mother could never have afforded any more- and he was a generally shy person, unlike any members of the family he had met._

_Sherlock was bold and not afraid to speak his exisite mind, and his mother was curvy, bubbly, passionate and outspoken. Sherlock's father- whom he had only met once- had a booming, strong voice and posture. In fact, he was a blank canvas of a person compared to the Holmes'._

_His mother had been almost as eccentric before his father had died. When he was five, Geoff's dad had been shot on duty as a policeman during a riot, and then the income had dropped to a measly £20 a week- his mother only being a waitress part-time to try and look after him. he'd spent the rest of his life on basically benefits- which had been cut last year, and so had nearly an aneurism when he'd entered the Holmes house._

"_Geoff!" Sherlock's mother addressed him loftily, floating out of her 'chambers' to embrace him, "I don't believe you've met Croftie? Have you?"_

"_Uh… no ma'am. Who is…"_

"_Why Mycroft is Sherlock's brother of course!" Sherlock's mother twinkled. She glared at Sherlock for a second, "Hasn't Shirley mentioned him at all?"_

_Sherlock scowled at the nickname, "It's never came up, mother."  
>his mother tutted, before turning back to Geoff, "You must meet him! come along, he'll be back from piano practise soon!"<em>

_Geoff, who hadn't before known that his friend even had a brother, smiled and followed. Sherlock groaned and plodded behind them, grumbling._

_As they crossed over between wings of the house, Geoff became increasingly aware of a beautiful melody from below. "He's just finishing, by the sound of it." Sherlock's mother grinned._

"_That's Mycroft playing?" Geoff asked, bewildered._

"_Yes." Their mother beamed with pride. Sherlock rolled his eyes._

"_Shirley, why don't you ever play with Croftie? I'm sure he'd love to do a piano-violin duet some time!"_

"_No." Sherlock pouted._

_Geoff bit his lip, wondering why his friend was so reluctant to see his brother. _

_The music downstairs hit it's climax, and their mother shook her perfect hips along to the beat. "He plays so beautifully." She said, leading him through into a room that Geoff would have labelled a library if it weren't for the double-bed in the centre of the room: he'd never seen so many books._

"_He's an avid reader, Croftie." Sherlock's mother said fondly, "He also rides horses, and enjoys tea. With a slice of mummy's home-made chocolate cake of course. He loves his mummy's cooking."  
>Geoff smiled and felt a pang in his chest. He wished his mother could cook. <em>

_Sherlock smirked, "I'll tell him you said so."  
>"Oh goodness no, Shirley!" his mother sparkled, "He'd be ever so embarrassed."<em>

"_Which would be exactly the point of telling him." Sherlock grinned evilly._

"_Don't you dare, wicked child. He does tease his brother so." _

_Geoff smiled, "He teases everyone."  
>"Shut up." Sherlock snapped, pouting, "If you two want to stay here and talk to the chubster, then that's fine by me. I'm going to my room."<br>"Don't you dare call your brother that!" Sherlock's mother yelled, going red with anger, "You know how self- conscious-"_

_It seemed that only Geoff was aware that the music had stopped and that a set of footsteps was rapidly approaching the room. _

"_Mummy, you haven't been snooping around in my bedroom again, have you?" The older boy's voice was airy, light and well-spoken, and the three turned to see the figure enter the room._

_He was a good five or so years older than the thirteen year olds, but had a youthful face. He stood a great deal taller than them too, being about Six foot or so, and had a strange look on his face. He regarded Geoff for a moment before addressing Sherlock, "I presume this is that Geoff boy."_

"_Yes." Sherlock said quietly, eyes flickering from his mother and brother rapidly. _

_Mycroft set the piano music on a nearby table silently, thinking for a moment, "Why did you walk here, Geoff?" he asked._

_Geoff blushed, "I…"_

"_You said your mum dropped you off!" Sherlock's mother exclaimed, "We could have given you a lift!"_

"_I…" Geoff bit his lip again, "I didn't want to be a bother."_

_Sherlock scoffed. The Holmes' mother exclaimed, "But it's… how many miles from your house?"_

"_It's about eighteen." Mycroft said elegantly, crossing the room and clicking open a chest, "But he walks everywhere, so he's used to it. your mother…" he studied Geoff for a moment, "Hasn't driven for five years."  
>Geoff swallowed, used to deductions, "She couldn't afford to keep the car."<em>

"_You should have said!" The Holmes' mother said._

"_I didn't want to be any trouble." Geoff said meekly._

"_He walked 18.4 miles not to be any trouble." Mycroft mused aloud, "That tells us something about your character, Geoff."_

"_It does?"_

"_Oh yes." Mycroft smiled, removing a helmet from the chest and shutting it, "Now I'm off horse-riding, mummy, do keep them out of my room."  
>and with that he was gone, floating on air out the door and down the stairs.<em>

_Geoff frowned, unsure of most things about the older boy, and interested in finding out more._

**Please review :D **


	2. Chapter 2

An Unlikely pair- 2

**Thanks to the people who reviewed, please please please could everyone take a leaf out their book and make me happy with a review? :3**

The crone clung onto Mycroft's arm and, being a gentleman, couldn't exactly shake her away. Instead he looked around almost desperately, searching for some sort of escape to his doomed ride home.

"There you are!" Lestrade said, thinking quickly and waving the older brother over.

"Ah. Geoff." Mycroft said, bewildered but grateful, slipping gentlemanly out of the crone's grasp and sitting delicately beside the detective inspector. As she scowled and shuffled away, Mycroft sat beside him in silence, peering out the window politely and trying not to appear as grossed out by the dirt on the window frame. Lestrade swallowed nervously, trying not to look as anxious as he felt.

"So how have you been?" Mycroft asked loftily, crossing his leg over the other.

Lestrade shrugged.

"Not so well? Hm." Mycroft said thoughtfully.

Lestrade sunk into his seat and wished he wasn't so shy.

"_Is your… brother home?" Geoff murmured, gulping and trying not to look to bothered._

"_How the hell should I know?" Sherlock asked, looking up from the biscuit he had been eating with a glare. _

"_Just wonderin'." Geoff said quietly, returning his gaze to the cup of tea in front of him._

"_I think it's great you want to be better friends with Croftie!" Sherlock's mother said, removing Sherlock's cup and saucer from his hands crossly with him._

_Lestrade said nothing, just kept his head down._

"_I mean, neither of my gorgeous boys have many friends." Sherlock's mother said, "But especially Mycroft. No idea why."_

"_Because he's a bastard?" Sherlock piped up, which was received by a scowl and a slap from his mother. _

"_Croftie never did anything to hurt anybody." She snapped. _

_Sherlock rolled his eyes and glowered at Geoff, silently blaming him. The other boy swallowed, eyes dropping to the ground as he realised how dead he was. _

_Sherlock's mother tutted and left the room, swinging her hips as she always did, looking over her shoulder, "He's horse-riding."_

"_Come on Geoff." Sherlock said, "You don't want to go talk to stuffy old Mycroft when you can come and help me with this case."_

"_Case… oh yeah." Geoff sighed. He was eager to gain experience, to help him become like his father but… Sherlock's brother had sparked an interest in him he'd never had before. _

"So…" Lestrade piped up, "Why are you taking the bus?"

Mycroft sighed, as if it was blatantly obvious, "Sherlock, apparently, wanted me to take this bus to the office."

"It stops off in a secret service-" Lestrade began, but with a quick look from Mycroft silenced.

Mycroft cleared his throat, "Nearby, yes."

"Ah." Lestrade said, lost for words yet again. He decided just to shut up and look out the window, away from any more awkwardness.

"_I'll get the bus, Mrs Holmes." Geoff said politely, bowing his head and quickly leaving the mansion._

"_If you're sure…" Sherlock's mother said, waving him away. _

_Geoff nodded and continued down the dark path, knowing that it was a long walk and not caring._

_He cut across the fields, to save time and distance, and tried to avoid the angry stare of the cows. Then suddenly there was a monster-like roar and the glint of a flick knife startled him._

_The man grunted something that sounded like 'gimme your money' and Geoff tried not to whimper, "But I don't have any."_

"_Yeah right. I saw you leave that mansion."_

"_I'm a g-guest!" Geoff exclaimed._

"_So? Those types don't hang around with nobodies."_

_Geoff licked his dry lips. What was it his dad always said?_

"_**If you can't call the police, give them what they want and run." **_

_But he didn't have any money._

"_I can prove it!" Geoff said, tipping out his pockets and socks and shoes. The man shoved him to the floor and removed the shoes, his school blazer, only pair of school trousers and uniformed shirt and took his bag- which had all his school books hidden inside the pouches- before scarpering, leaving the terrified boy in his socks, tie and underwear. _

_Trying not to cry, the teenager stood and tried to wipe off some of the mud from his little clothes. How was he ever going to explain this to his mum? They wouldn't be able to afford a new uniform… it seemed like there'd be no hot water or heat for a while. _

_The sound of horses' hooves startled him further and he clambered under the hedge rows, petrified that it would be an angry farmer, or perhaps another mugger. _

"_Geoff?" _

_He vaguely recognised the older boy's voice and peered up in slight hope. Mycroft Holmes, seated grandly atop a pure white stallion, frowned down, curious as to his state._

"_I… got mugged." Geoff explained, although it seemed a poor explanation, and wiped some mud from his face self-consciously._

_Mycroft sighed and looked around, "Alright, you better come with me." _

_Geoff gaped as the boy dismounted and lifted Geoff onto the horse, whom whinnied snootily, as if to almost refuse, before Mycroft took the lead and led it back to the mansion, instructing Geoff on how to ride safely. _

_Once they were inside, Mycroft gave Geoff his jacket and lit a fire. He then called the police. _

"Why does Sherlock want you to take the bus?" Lestrade said, aloud, but quietly, so that anyone without Mycroft's brilliant hearing might have misheard him.

"I really have no clue." Mycroft sighed in exasperation, "But he does."  
>"So you're just doing it for his sake?" Lestrade asked. Mycroft sighed again and nodded dismally.<p>

They fell into silence again and Mycroft caught the crone's eye out of the corner of his. He grimaced as she smiled a toothless grin and tried to look as decent as possible. Mycroft struggled not to scream LEAVE ME ALONE.

Lestrade grinned and returned his attentions back to the Holmes brother. He had lost a few pounds- Lestrade could tell- but still looked as well-fed, suggesting he was on a diet and failing slightly. Lestrade recalled how skinny he was as a teenager and came to the decision that the chubby Mycroft looked better.

**Please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

An unlikely pair- 3

**I didn't like this couple when I began writing this… but now I'm in love with it :D how could I have not seen it before? :D thanks to my friends on here for that one :3**

**Please review **

***disclaimer* I am well aware that most people don't call Lestrade Geoff. But in fact, Doyle never specifies his first name, just called him G. Lestrade, so it's up to us to decide, and I like Geoff better than Greg or George (which he is in the newest book) so Geoff he will stay :L **

Geoff sighed and tried to think of something- anything- to say.

Mycroft seemed to be doing the same thing, when the bus halted suddenly, and an announcement rang through the air.

"Due to some technical failure, we appear to have stopped. No electricity seems to be working. So… unfortunately, we will have to remain on the bus until assistance arrives."

Nearly everyone on the vehicle groaned audibly.

"This is just brilliant." Mycroft muttered, glancing at his watch.

Lestrade smiled slightly, wishing that Mycroft would loose his cool. He'd never seen that happen, but had always wanted to.

"_Oh Geoff!" The Holmes mother whittered, "You poor thing!" _

"_I'm fine." Blushed Geoff, pulling Mycroft's jacket further around him._

"_Thank goodness for Croftie."_

"_Idiot." Sherlock said, "Why didn't you let us drive you?"_

_Geoff blushed again. He didn't want the Holmes family to see his house._

_Mycroft re-entered the room, hanging up his mobile phone, "We're locating the thief now, Geoff."_

_Geoff blushed and thanked him, covering himself self-consciously. The Holmes mother draped a blanket over his legs, "Sherlock, hunny, go get him some of your uniform."_

"_He can have some of my old uniform." Mycroft said, "I was more of his height at his age than Sherlock is."_

"_Alright- Geoff, go with Mycroft and get some of his uniform shirts, and a pair of trousers. You can keep them."_

"_Oh!" Geoff blushed, "Thank you." _

_Mycroft smiled, "You can keep that jacket too." _

_Geoff grinned, and followed the elder boy up the stairs._

…

"_I'm home mother."  
>"Oh Geoff!" tearfully, his mother hugged him tight, "Sherlock's brother called me!"<em>

"_Oh…"Geoff said,_

"_He told me what happened! My poor baby! And how honourable of him to give you his uniform! He also proposed we meet as families for dinner, so next week they're coming round here!"_

"_What?" oh no. Sherlock. And Mycroft. At his house._

_The top floor of a rickety building, Geoff's house's roof had many holes. The floors were baron from where they'd sold the carpets for food money, and his room had only a bed and a wardrobe. His mother's room had only a bed, and a cardboard box which she kept her three dresses and cooking apron._

_Their kitchen had a table with six chairs- none of which matched. The cups didn't match either, or the mugs. Their fridge was small, and usually empty. The cooker was old and of a poor quality. _

_She began cleaning the living room- which was the nicest room of the house, "Better keep it clean." _

_Geoff smiled weakly, and went to his room, a sinking feeling in his stomach._

Mycroft turned to Lestrade, pale, "I can't be late. I have a meeting with…" he lowered his voice, "NASA today."

Lestrade smiled, flattered that Mycroft trusted him, "I could probably drive you in the police car."

Mycroft considered, "Alright."

As they stood to leave, Lestrade noticed the crone following.

She caught up with them outside, and simpered to Mycroft, "Is there someone special in your life?"  
>"I…" Lestrade saw Mycroft's eyes fill with panic, "Yes I do."<p>

"You do?" the crone said, not believing, "Who?"

"Geoff here." Mycroft said, smiling and wrapping an arm around the police detective.

The crone hissed and moved away, scowling.

Lestrade said nothing, just relaxed, and felt the other man's arm hold him. he'd never wanted anything more than for this to be real.

**Please review, they cheer me up so fantastically much! **


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